Denis J. Halliday (born c.1941) was the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

Humanitarian Coordinator The Humanitarian Coordinator is the senior-most United Nations official in a country experiencing a humanitarian emergency. The Humanitarian Coordinator is appointed by the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator when a new emergency occurs o ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

from 1 September 1997 until 1998. He was previously Deputy Resident Representative to Singapore of the United Nations Development Programme.Murphy, C.N., 2006, The United Nations Development Programme: A Better Way? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.110 He is

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and holds an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in Economics, Geography and Public Administration from Trinity College, Dublin. After a 34-year career at the United Nations, where he had reached Assistant Secretary-General level, Halliday resigned in 1998 over the

sanctions against Iraq The sanctions against Iraq were a comprehensive financial and trade embargo imposed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Iraq. They began August 6, 1990, four days after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, stayed largely in force until May 22 ...

, characterizing them as "

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

". He subsequently gave the following explanation of his decision to resign:

I often have to explain why I resigned from the United Nations after a 30-year career, why I took on the all powerful states of the
UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
; and why after five years I continue to serve the well being of the people of Iraq. In reality there was no choice, and there remains no choice. You all would have done the same had you been occupying my seat as head of the UN Humanitarian Program in Iraq.

I was driven to resignation because I refused to continue to take Security Council orders, the same Security Council that had imposed and sustained genocidal sanctions on the innocent of Iraq. I did not want to be complicit. I wanted to be free to speak out publicly about this crime.

And above all, my innate sense of justice was and still is outraged by the violence that UN sanctions have brought upon, and continues to bring upon, the lives of children, families – the extended families, the loved ones of Iraq. There is no justification for killing the young people of Iraq, not the aged, not the sick, not the rich, not the poor.

Some will tell you that the leadership is punishing the Iraqi people. That is not my perception, or experience from living in Baghdad. And were that to be the case – how can that possibly justify further punishment, in fact
collective punishment Collective punishment is a punishment or sanction imposed on a group for acts allegedly perpetrated by a member of that group, which could be an ethnic or political group, or just the family, friends and neighbors of the perpetrator. Because ind ...
, by the United Nations? I don't think so. And international law has no provision for the disproportionate and murderous consequences of the ongoing UN
embargo Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they m ...
– for well over 12 long years.

In 2003 Halliday was presented with the

Gandhi International Peace Award The Gandhi Foundation is a United Kingdom-based voluntary organisation which seeks to further the work of Mahatma Gandhi through a variety of educational events and activities. Aims and activities As part of its mission, the Gandhi Foundation ...

in recognition of his work drawing attention to the plight of Iraqis. In 2007, he presented the same award to the website

Media Lens Media Lens is a British media analysis website established in 2001 by David Cromwell and David Edwards. Cromwell and Edwards are the site's editors and only regular contributors. Their aim is to scrutinise and question the mainstream media' ...

, whose co-founder David Edwards had interviewed Halliday in May 2000 about his work in Iraq. In 2009 Denis Halliday agreed to become a Patron of the

Gandhi Foundation The Gandhi Foundation is a United Kingdom-based voluntary organisation which seeks to further the work of Mahatma Gandhi through a variety of educational events and activities. Aims and activities As part of its mission, the Gandhi Foundatio ...

, and he presented the annual peace award to the Children's Legal Centre. On 25 October 2007, when a statue of

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...

was unveiled in

Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and it contai ...

, Halliday, Harold Pinter and

John Pilger John Richard Pilger (; born 9 October 1939) is an Australian journalist, writer, scholar, and documentary filmmaker. He has been mainly based in Britain since 1962. He was also once visiting professor at Cornell University in New York. Pilge ...

had a letter printed in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' in which they condemned the "celebration of Lloyd George's legacy", as "disgraceful", likening his policies of aerial bombardment of

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

ern countries to the present day

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

. Since leaving the UN, Halliday has been involved with a number of peace initiatives such a
Perdana
founded by the

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. He was one of the main witnesses for the defence in the trials of Mary Kelly and the Pitstop Ploughshares Five who in 2002 had separately damaged a US warplane, at

Shannon Airport Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...

. The trials lasted over three years and all defendants were eventually acquitted. In 2014 he was again an expert witness at the trial of

Margaretta D'Arcy Margaretta Ruth D'Arcy (born 14 June 1934, London) is an Irish actress, writer, playwright, and activist. D'Arcy has been a member of Aosdána since its inauguration and is known for addressing Irish nationalism, civil liberties, and women's r ...

who sat on a runway at Shannon airport to protest its use by the US military. In 2015 he was an expert witness for the defence at the trial of the TDs

Clare Daly Clare Daly (born 16 April 1968) is an Irish politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the Dublin constituency since July 2019. She is a member of Independents 4 Change, part of The Left in the European P ...

and

Mick Wallace Michael Wallace (born 9 November 1955) is an Irish politician and former property developer who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the South constituency since July 2019. He is a member of Independents 4 Change, ...

who went over the fence at the same airport to attempt to search a US plane for arms. D'Arcy served two terms in prison (three months and two weeks respectively) after she refused to sign a bond and on 22 April 2015 Deputies Wallace and Daly were convicted and fined €2000 each or 30 days imprisonment in default. Immediately afterwards both parliamentarians said on television that they would not pay. Halliday was on board the humanitarian ship the ''MV Rachel Corrie'' en route to Gaza. In a statement released by the Ireland

Palestine Solidarity Campaign The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is an activist organisation in England and Wales. It was incorporated in the UK in 2004 as Palestine Solidarity Campaign Ltd. They officially support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement ...

, Halliday said, "We want to emphasise that our aim is not provocation but getting our aid cargo into Gaza. We are calling on the UN to inspect the cargo and escort us into Gaza, and to send a UN representative to sail on board before they enter the exclusion zone."

See also

References

Further reading